I enjoyed reading this! (hi, I'm a longtime lurker. Elizabeth Sanders sent me here.) I think it would be fun to go into a deeper dive on that conclusion of people going further up and further in because they want to, or don't because they don't want to -- especially in the context of myth, which can have a transformational power even over our own desires. But Narnia isn't a one-size-fits-all transformational myth either, like you said.
Yes, it would be fun to do a deeper dive on this concept! Partly because the notion of desire being the be-all/end-all can be oversimplified. True, I don't think God overrules desire, nor do I think he predetermines people's desires. No one goes further up unless they want to. But how we get to the *want to* isn't a one-size-fits-all road.
I also think people can act in a way that's oriented away from the object of all good desire. Like Paul and Emeth, their desires are reliable, but their understanding of their desires is faulty and leads to flawed behavior. For them, the Damascus Road isn't necessarily (imo) an overruling of their desire but a revelation of what their desires ought to orient them towards.
A myth's transformational power might appear to "overwhelm" our desires, but I think what happens in those moments is that the myth actually brings out our *real* desires, no matter how deeply buried they might be under idolatry and the cares and obfuscations of this world. Myth always tells us truth, including truths about ourselves that we have been unable to articulate.
But yes, definitely room for more discussion. Maybe in 2024! Happy new year!
I came to this through a spontaneous browse on Reddit's, brought forth by a sudden childish need for having a Christmas of Old (which was always the BBC version of LWW; as Katy mentions production values might be less than the Walden Media movies, but if you can see past that, the series was much closer to the books in spirit) and I just wanted to say thank you for writing this.
My English isn't good enough to debate (agree?) with you in depth (frankly it's been so many years since university that I can probably not even do it in my own language), but I am now going to subscribe to your substack - and go chase up my copy of Till We Have Faces (having devoured all of the Narnia over NY).
I'm so glad you found this post and reread the Narnia books over the holiday! I rewatched Walden Media's "Prince Caspian" movie just today lol. (A very good adaptation imo.)
I'll get around to the BBC Narnia series at some point -- and perhaps will write something about it here. Thank you for subscribing and I hope you enjoy some of the other stuff on this substack! On balance, there's probably more reference to C.S. Lewis and Narnia than anything else.
If you want, I can share links to a couple of other Narnia-related things I've written.
I’d love to know what you think of the BBC adaptions of Narnia - these were my introduction to the books and it didn’t take me long to realise Aslan was a Jesus-figure. His treatment of Edmund made it the most obvious.
I have not seen the BBC's Narnia adaptations. I went straight from the books to the Walden Media LWW film. I won't deny being a little afraid of disappointment from the 80s-era production quality. But I'll check it out (probably) (at some point). You are not the first person to recommend it to me.
I enjoyed reading this! (hi, I'm a longtime lurker. Elizabeth Sanders sent me here.) I think it would be fun to go into a deeper dive on that conclusion of people going further up and further in because they want to, or don't because they don't want to -- especially in the context of myth, which can have a transformational power even over our own desires. But Narnia isn't a one-size-fits-all transformational myth either, like you said.
Yes, it would be fun to do a deeper dive on this concept! Partly because the notion of desire being the be-all/end-all can be oversimplified. True, I don't think God overrules desire, nor do I think he predetermines people's desires. No one goes further up unless they want to. But how we get to the *want to* isn't a one-size-fits-all road.
I also think people can act in a way that's oriented away from the object of all good desire. Like Paul and Emeth, their desires are reliable, but their understanding of their desires is faulty and leads to flawed behavior. For them, the Damascus Road isn't necessarily (imo) an overruling of their desire but a revelation of what their desires ought to orient them towards.
A myth's transformational power might appear to "overwhelm" our desires, but I think what happens in those moments is that the myth actually brings out our *real* desires, no matter how deeply buried they might be under idolatry and the cares and obfuscations of this world. Myth always tells us truth, including truths about ourselves that we have been unable to articulate.
But yes, definitely room for more discussion. Maybe in 2024! Happy new year!
I came to this through a spontaneous browse on Reddit's, brought forth by a sudden childish need for having a Christmas of Old (which was always the BBC version of LWW; as Katy mentions production values might be less than the Walden Media movies, but if you can see past that, the series was much closer to the books in spirit) and I just wanted to say thank you for writing this.
My English isn't good enough to debate (agree?) with you in depth (frankly it's been so many years since university that I can probably not even do it in my own language), but I am now going to subscribe to your substack - and go chase up my copy of Till We Have Faces (having devoured all of the Narnia over NY).
I'm so glad you found this post and reread the Narnia books over the holiday! I rewatched Walden Media's "Prince Caspian" movie just today lol. (A very good adaptation imo.)
I'll get around to the BBC Narnia series at some point -- and perhaps will write something about it here. Thank you for subscribing and I hope you enjoy some of the other stuff on this substack! On balance, there's probably more reference to C.S. Lewis and Narnia than anything else.
If you want, I can share links to a couple of other Narnia-related things I've written.
Happy new year!
Thanks for the signal boost!
I’d love to know what you think of the BBC adaptions of Narnia - these were my introduction to the books and it didn’t take me long to realise Aslan was a Jesus-figure. His treatment of Edmund made it the most obvious.
I have not seen the BBC's Narnia adaptations. I went straight from the books to the Walden Media LWW film. I won't deny being a little afraid of disappointment from the 80s-era production quality. But I'll check it out (probably) (at some point). You are not the first person to recommend it to me.
Thank you for reading and happy new year!
Go in prepared for the quality. Also remember that in The Magician’s Nephew, Aslan makes all the animals similar sizes. That’ll help!
*immediately imagines ants the size of elephants*
More elephants the size of lions
Not quite that extreme 🤣